Regent vs Oceania... Please Help!

[sailbynite]

We have been loyal Regent/Raddison cruisers for many years. In fact, I have never been on any other line. My partner has been on several (Cunard, HAL, SilverSeas, Seaborn etc.). We are considering Oceania this year. We have heard many wonderful things about them. Quite frankly, we feel Regent service has slipped way too low at the same time their fares have climbed way too high.

 

We are very interested to know the true differences between Oceania and Regent (beside the obvious cabin size). Any and all comments will truly be appreciated.

 

Thanks to all for your help.

[Aruba]

It's been a while since we sailed Regent so I can't speak to your reference about service slipping. For us, Regent was a true luxury experience. But the primary difference is that we estimate we can spend 2 weeks on Oceania for the same price as 1 week on Regent -- on an apples-to-apples basis, taking into account that on Regent gratuities, wine, cocktails, shore excursions etc are included. We enjoy the cuisine and amenities on Oceania every bit as much as Regent, and in fact O's ships are more beautiful than Regent's. I think the passenger demographic is about the same also.

 

For us, it comes down to economics...and Oceania wins hands down.

[retired1]

I agree!! We recently took our first Oceania Cruise and loved it. In fact, we have another one booked. We've sailed a lot on Regent too.

[hondorner]

...We are considering Oceania this year. We have heard many wonderful things about them. Quite frankly, we feel Regent service has slipped way too low at the same time their fares have climbed way too high..

I've been on both, and can probably answer at least some of your questions, but I'm a little curious. If you feel that Regent service has slipped, I wonder why you are considering Oceania, because Oceania upper management is who has been responsible for Regent for the past year or so?

 

I'm certain that Regent service is different than it was under the Carlsons; but having been on Regent very recently, it would be hard for me to believe it could be much better. Regent is undergoing a transition, but I would soon expect it to be up to Oceania standards in terms of service.

 

Having said that, you can expect the same or better service on Oceania, especially because more and more of the staff are roating between the cruise lines.

 

You can expect slightly better cuisine in the main dining room, you can expect a slightly different emphasis in Polo as opposed to Prime 7 -- Polo is more about the overall quality of the meat, while Prime 7 seems to be more about special cuts of meat, like Wagyu beef and Berkshire pork. I have only sailed on Navigator, so I haven't experienced Signatures, but I understand it has a Cordon Bleu atmosphere; while Toscana on Oceania is about outstanding Italian fare. Like Regent, the specialty restaurants require reservations but have no extra fee.

 

On the original three ships of the Regatta class (Regatta, Insignia and Nautica), standard cabins are quite a bit smaller than anything Regent offers, and the bathrooms are a fraction of the size. One would have to move up to the Penthouse category on those ships to begin to get the same size, and one would find a combo tub/shower in those bathrooms. At the penthouse level, however, the cost advantage of Oceania begins to disappear, especially if one is somewhat of a free spender on board.

 

On board Oceania's new Marina, some of the differences begin to blur. The standard staterooms are nearly as large as the standard suites on Mariner and 80% of the size on Navigatorm there are separate tubs and showers in all but the inside cabins and the public areas and restaurants will far exceed anything in the Regent fleet -- but, of course, the ship carries 80% more passengers than anything in the Regent fleet.

 

The smoking policies between the two are similar, but perhaps more restrictive on Oceania. The dress codes are similar (perhaps a bit more relaxed on Oceania -- you will see fewer sports coats -- but followed religiously), both have open dining, both have similar policies (Oceania does not charge a penalty if one has to cancel), both seem to use a similar approach to air (although Oceania does not include transfers or offer a low cost business flight).

 

The primary difference, of course, is that Regent is all-inclusive (perhaps more so than any other cruise line, while Oceania is ala carte, although perhaps less so than most other cruise lines (no charge for soda or bottled water, for example). The other difference in that regard is more subtle, and would be most important to those who don't like to think about what they are spending -- on Oceania, purchases such as pool side and restaurant drinks are "paid" individually with presentation of a chit, submission of the World Card, and signing the chit whenthe card is returned.

 

Taking all of that at what can be perceived from facts, it souns as if Regent is the better deal, but the bottom line is that many of the Regent cruises carry a significantly higher up-front cost to cover all those advantages. We can get much the same service, slightly better food, outstanding comfort and the same elegant ambiance on Oceania for a lower cost than many Regent cruises, unless we go crazy with the bar bill or excursions. On the other hand, some Oceania cruises will cost more than $400 per night, and many Regent cruises are less than $500 per night, so the line begins to blur. Essentially, we will not sail on Regent when the fare goes above $500 per night, and when the fare on Regent is less, we will consider the itinerary, unless the fare on Oceania is considerably less, such as on transAtlantic cruises.

 

We take great comfort in knowing that the overall management (Prestige Cruise Holdings) is the same on both cruise lines, and knowing that management is responsible for all the great things you have heard about Oceania.

[poss]

OP: We're in same situation as you--have cruised only Regent and are thinking about taking our first O cruise. I think that you may find some relevant details if you check a couple of my posts on the subject.

One thing for sure is that we'd not have considered O until Marina came on board. We don't need huge cabins, but there's no way we'd've been happy in the size of the former ones, especially those very cramped (by our lights) bathrooms. We've actually got a Marina cruise booked, but I'm having second thoughts (which I hope can be allayed, since I really like the sound of the itinerary and of the new ship).

I have not found, btw, that O is very much cheaper than Regent. We each have 2 glasses of wine with dinner, my husband has a beer as nightcap, and we have one cocktail each with hors d'oeuvre. When I figured in those costs (along with tips), plus the cost of excursions, the bottom lines came out fairly close, best as I could figure (which may be wildly off-- I'm not great at this sort of thing).

We booked B1-- we like being mid-ship, and not over public spaces (which can be noisy). Our cabin will be a good deal smaller than the standard ("deluxe") cabin on Regent. I think we'll be ok with that, if the bathrooms are good. But I know we'll miss the walk-in closet. In other words, it's hard to compare apples and apples, since the cabins on the two lines aren't the same size.

I'm also wondering whether we'll like the size of Marina. We've enjoyed the approx 700 pax on Voyager and Mariner. Marina is something like 1200 I think-- I'm not sure we'll like a ship that large.

In short, I imagine we'd like the service and the food and the pax and the ambience every bit as much as we've liked same on Regent. I'm not sure we'll like the smaller cabins and the larger ship size. And by my figuring, there's no way that we can't do 2 weeks on O for the price of one week on R.

Good luck with your comparisons; I'll be following your post.

[poss]

I forgot to mention that another sticking point for us is the business upgrade on air. On Regent the cost is $2000 per person to upgrade. On Oceania, it's something like $3700-- which puts it out of our budget. This is a major concern for us since my husband is not interested in flying coach over the pond.

[merryecho]

For us the biggest draw for O was the casual dress policy. Everyone dresses nicely, yet comfortably.

[poss]

If I'm not mistaken, Regent and Oceania have same dress policy.

[WesW]

Don, excellent analysis..describes well why we are now booked on the Marina in 2011 even tho we have sailed on Regent multiple times and are booked on the Voyager this November.

[hondorner]

If I'm not mistaken, Regent and Oceania have same dress policy.

Correct, but my observation is that it is slightly more casual on O, with a bit more of a bow towards elegance on R. I wore a jacket every night to dinner on R and did not feel out of place; I'm getting a couple of new polo (golf) shirts to wear on our upcoming O cruise. I'll take a jacket on O, but will wear it much less often.

 

Having said that, I suspect that the dress on R will slowly become more casual as folks get used to the new policy. It's important to stress, however, that the inclination of the passengers on both cruise lines will most probably never degenerate to jeans or such outside of the buffet dining areas.